Chan ousts Hsieh to make doubles final in Malaysia

By Dave Carroll / Staff reporter

Hsieh Su-wei, Taiwan’s top doubles player, who with her partner was beaten at the Malaysian Open doubles in Kuala Lumpur yesterday by another Taiwanese, Chan Hao-ching and her partner, pose after winning the BNP Parabas Open women’s doubles with China’s Shuai Peng on March 15 in Indian Wells, California.

Photo: AFP

Top seeds Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Timea Babos of Hungary grabbed a spot in the Malaysian Open doubles final tomorrow after a straight-sets victory in the semi-finals yesterday.

Chan and Babos got the better of Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei, ranked the No. 2 doubles player in the world, and Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia 6-3, 6-3 in just over an hour at the Royal Selangor Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The No. 1 seeds saved 10 of the 13 break-point chances they faced, while converting six of 13 to set up the prospect of a sisters’ duel in the final tomorrow. Chan’s elder sister, Chan Yung-jan, and her partner Zheng Saisai of China face a semi-final today against unseeded Ukrainian duo Lyudmyla Kichenok and Olga Savchuk.

The loss saw Hsieh miss her chance to become the top-ranked doubles player in the world. She would have been the first Taiwanese to have done so.

“Really, I would have been the No. 1 if I won it here? It is OK, my partner Peng Shuai can hang on to the spot as long as she wants,” Hsieh said laughing.

However, Hsieh is still looking good to make the season’s grand finale, the WTA Championships in Singapore, with Peng Shuai, in October as one of the top eight pairs on the Tour.

“I am doing well in the doubles now, but I have not given up on the singles. It is better to keep one’s hopes on two events. If I do not do well in one, I can always count on the other,” Hsieh said.